Sirius Stark and the Avadroid Invasion
by Cliff Cloudjumper
Summary: You know the world is in a state of chaos when a psychopathic madman CREATES the ultimate wizard from a Metamorphmagus, a Werewolf, a Legilimens/Occlumens prodigy, a House Elf, a Vampire, a Boggart, and-a DEMENTOR? Invictus Stark: violent when drunk. Violent when NOT drunk. Psychopath. Geneticist. His rebellious experiment Sirius must now stop him-or surrender the world.
1. Sirius

_**I own nothing of the Harry Potter universe!**_

* * *

S-1 Stark was never born. He had no mother, or a father, and yet, here he was, in the house of some guy named 'Potter.' He was a kind fellow, and he gave off warmth and comfort. S-1 liked him—more than the last person he knew, Invictus Stark, at any rate. He had just opened a letter addressed to him, and when Invictus saw, he roared like a baboon and cast a Torture Curse at him. Next thing he knew, his owl Alpha had landed on his shoulder, and in a burst of flame, he was here!

He had never liked Invictus. When he asked him where he came from, he had said that he just appeared. That didn't make any sense at all, he knew that making children required a female and for both people to love each other a lot. Invictus didn't love anybody, least of all him. And there were no photographs of a woman, no womanly smell, or any other sign of a lady that Invictus had loved.

He knew where Alpha came from: he'd seen Invictus make him. Yes, make him. There was a cauldron filled with some liquid, and Invictus had added different kinds of feathers and a scale of something, and then in a black mist, a blacker bird with a long skinny tail with feathers at the end and silver eyes soared out of it. S-1 was the first thing he had seen, and it became bonded to him indefinitely.

This had caused Invictus to get angry, and he accused S-1 of "stealing" his experiments. He was extremely violent when he was angry. He was violent when he wasn't angry, for that matter. So, he had Stupefied S-1, and removed his feet from the ankles, and replaced them with a mechanised pair. S-1 hadn't felt any pain, and he knew that he was stunned so that the neighbours wouldn't hear him scream in agony.

"Let's just start from the beginning," the oldest Potter said, "What is your name?"

"S-1," he replied.

"What's your owl's name?"

"Alpha."

"Who are your parents?"

"That, I'll never know."

Potter had a quizzical look on his face. "What? Surely, you must know the names of your parents."

S-1 sighed. "Alas, Mr. Potter, no. I asked the man I live with—Invictus Stark—"

Potter choked on the tea he was drinking. "You live with Invictus Stark?"

Then, four voices called from one of the upper floors, "Who lives with Invictus Stark?"

"Come down here, you might want to hear this," Potter replied, "I'll call Ron and Hermione and their kids." To S-1, he added, "Don't go anywhere, okay?" And with that, he strode to the fireplace, into which he tossed some black powder—'Floo Powder,' Invictus called it—which caused fluorescent green flames to leap up. He said to the flames, "33 Florens Crescent!" and stuck his head in.

At this point, a red haired woman, a red haired little girl, and two black haired boys arrived at the base of the stairs. They stared at him for a minute, and then all of them started talking abruptly. After a few minutes of this, they all stopped. S-1 realised that they had asked a question—a different question each.

"Umm…" was all he could say.

Thankfully, he was saved from the discomfort by Mr. Potter unsticking his head from the fireplace. He stepped back, and in a roar of fire, two people stepped out. One was a woman with sleek brown hair, and the other a red haired man. Then, a girl with brown hair, and a red headed boy. After that, a tall man with a hooked nose and shoulder length black hair, followed by a two mustachioed men, one with short brown hair and the other with shoulder length black hair. There was a pink haired witch, a boy with turquoise hair, and finally, an old man with silver hair and a long beard, who was wearing half moon spectacles walked gracefully into the living room. All of them looked curious—except the hook nosed guy, his face was unreadable. For some reason, S-1 respected the man immediately… perhaps it was the way his cape ominously billowed behind him with no wind, but he could sense he was a powerful wizard.

As they all shook his hand and introduced themselves, and he introduced himself, he noticed that none of their names had numbers in them.

When this was done, Mr. Potter said, "Okay, now Severus here"—he indicated the hooked nosed man—"is going to look through your mind with his superior Legilimency skills."

"Then I should inform him," S-1 informed them, "that Invictus has trained me in Occlumency; it's second nature now, though I'll try my best to prevent myself from clouding my thoughts. Can't be too sure though, if you want to know stuff from me, you would be more successful by using Veritaserum, or simply by asking me."

Mr. Snape looked gob smacked, and the others just raised their eyebrows.

At last, Mr. Snape managed to say, "How can you have learned Occlumency? You must be only eleven!"

"Is it unusual for someone to learn Occlumency at that age?"

"Yes," Severus intoned, "Yes, it is."

"Oh." Suddenly, S-1 was tense. "Are—are you going to torture me anytime during this… umm… conversation?"

The very thought seemed to terrify these people.

"No," the witch who had called herself Tonks said, "Why would we?"

"Mr. Stark does," he replied as-a-matter-of-fact-ly.

"Did," Mr. Potter said, while the others cursed Invictus in their own way. He'd be killed for saying it, but it was comforting. "You're not going to live with him anymore. I'm sorry if you like him, but—"

At this, S-1 had to interrupt. "Don't tell him I said so, but any place would be better than living with him."

Mr. Potter nodded, and said, "Good. We'll work something out for you then. Now, how did you get here?"

It was then that he remembered the letter. "Oh! I was about to open a letter"—he fished for it in his pockets and pulled it out—"but when Invictus saw it, he got angry. I think it was because I didn't tell him I got mail, or maybe it was some other reason. Anyway, he used the Cruciatus Curse on me, but just then, Alpha flew to my shoulder, and in a flash of fire, I was here."

"A flash of fire, you say?" the old man—Albus Dumbledore—inquired, smiling. "Well, now, isn't that interesting… Fawkes!"

Dumbledore's shoulder suddenly combusted, though he didn't seem to feel a thing. The fire went out, and there was a majestic red and gold bird on his shoulder.

It stared at S-1. It stared at him for so long that he finally realized that it was staring not at him, but Alpha.

This apparently made Dumbledore very happy. "It is as I thought. Twelve years ago, Fawkes had gone, on my request, to the home of Invictus Stark, to investigate what he was up to. Ivictus must have tried to kill him, for he returned looking as young as ever! By the look of Alpha's tail, that is no ordinary bird, is it, my boy?"

S-1 thought about how best to word his thoughts. He finally decided on, "Well, sir, I know that birds—except Phoenixes—are supposed to come from eggs, so Alpha isn't ordinary in that sense. But he is still a bird of some sort."

"Hmm," Dumbledore said, nodding, "and could you tell us how exactly he came into existence?"

"Certainly. There was a cauldron, some years ago, full of a silvery fluid. Invictus added feathers and some thing's scale, and after a few rounds of stirring, there was a column of black smoke or steam or something from the cauldron. Alpha came flying out of it, a tiny little black thing with silver eyes." He smiled at the memory.

"Ah," Dumbledore said, "Do you remember, by any chance, a red feather being added?"

S-1 nodded. "Yep. There was a red feather and a light brown scale, a black feather, a white feather, a brown and black tipped feather, an orangish feather, and a gray and white speckled feather."

Dumbledore was looking satisfied. "That red feather, I believe, came from Fawkes. He must have left some behind when he combusted."

The red haired man, Ron Weasley, asked, "A light brown scale? Stay here…" And with that, he left the room. S-1 briefly wondered what he thought he was going to do besides stay here. He returned, with a book in his hands. "It says here," he said, "that Hungarian Horntails are light brown in colour and are considered to be the most dangerous dragons ever bred."

"Well I'd know all about that, wouldn't I?" Potter asked wryly.

Weasley grinned, and said, "So Alpha's part Hungarian Horntail? Wicked! Can he breathe fire?"

His wife merely rolled her eyes, but gasped as Alpha opened his mouth and coughed up a flame.

As everyone began conversing with themselves—and the red haired woman and brown haired woman began making breakfast—S-1 opened his letter.

The turquoise haired boy, who introduced himself as Teddy Lupin, came over, and consequently, so did the other children. "What's that you got there?" he asked.

"A letter," S-1 replied, "Supposedly, the sender is pleased to tell me that I'm accepted at some place called 'Hogwarts,' and that there is a list of books and other stuff enclosed in the envelope."

"Are you going to Hogwarts? Great! So am I!" Albus said.

"Ah," said the man who called himself Remus Lupin, "Do you know where to do your shopping?"

S-1 shook his head no.

He smiled, and said, "Diagon Alley."

Potter, who was also tuned in, said, "We're going in a week or so. You can come with us, and stay here until then I you'd like."

S-1 wanted to shout in agreement, but he was worried. "What if Invictus finds out? He won't be happy with you all, and I don't trust him not to curse you on sight."

Potter smiled, and said, "Worry not. This house is unplottable. And besides, how is he going to find you?"

That was a good point. "That's a good point," S-1 said. "Although, I can feel him when he calls me. Usually, I have to Apparate to him, or he gets mad."

The younger black haired boy, Albus, said, "You can Apparate?"

"Um, yeah. Although usually, I just fly to him. I don't like the feeling of Apparition, either wizard or Elf type."

That set off a whole new round of questions. When he finished telling them that yes, he could Apparate like an Elf, and that yes, he could fly because of the Micro-Repulsorlifts built into his feet as well as by partial Apparition, they asked for a demonstration of Elf Apparition and flight. Even the adults were listening now.

S-1 sighed. "Well, okay, but only Micro-Repulsorlift flight; wizard flight is detectable, and it feels funny. And you have to keep moving, or you fall."

"Let's take breakfast outside, shall we?" Ginny Potter asked. "That way the kids can play Quidditch when they finish, and S-1 can show off."

"How come I can't play Quidditch?" Sirius Black inquired.

"You can," Mrs. Potter replied, "Like I said, the kids can play Quidditch."

With much grinning, the group went into the backyard. S-1 thought that it was the largest patch of green he had ever seen. It was sweet smelling, and he bent down to feel it—he couldn't feel with his feet.

They set up a few tables, and when they all sat, S-1 couldn't help but notice that Snape looked strange, wearing an all black robe on a sunny morning.

Tonks seemed to think the same thing. "Severus," she asked, "must you wear black on every occasion?"

Snape looked as if someone had asked if the sun was hot. "Of course," he said, "How else am I supposed to strike fear into the hearts of my enemies?"

"You don't have enemies," Potter said, "Not here, anyway."

"I consider Black an enemy," Snape said.

"Well your wardrobe isn't striking fear into my heart," was the reply, "Especially as it's sunny."

This caused S-1 to snort, which made Black grin and wink at him.

"Does he strike fear into you?" he asked.

He eyed Snape speculatively. Finally, he decided, "Not really. Although, that could be because I've lived with an enemy all my life. And, like you said, it's sunny. You two seem more like rivals, anyway, so maybe he does actually strike fear into real enemies."

"What strikes fear into me," Lupin said, "Is that he never smiles. I tried to tickle him once, he sent me flying into a wall."

This caused snickers all around. When breakfast was over, the kids played Quidditch without Seekers and Beaters. It was Albus, Hugo, James, and Mr. Potter vs. Teddy, Sirius, Mrs. Weasley, and—reluctantly—S-1. He played on a broom for a while, though it was extremely uncomfortable, and he could hardly control it. He eventually crashed into the ground after a dive, but came out smiling. After apologising for the broom—which was surprisingly fine—he bent his knees, jumped as high as he could, and activated his M-Rs.

To much clapping of the audience, he intercepted the 'Quaffle,' which was actually a hollowed out and enlarged orange, and tossed into the opposing team's hoop. After this, the game quickly turned in his team's favour, and they won three hundred and twenty to seventy.

When they all landed, he was congratulated, and after many cheating jokes, Mr. Potter asked if he would like to Seek on his M-Rs. After getting the details, and being Dissillusioned so he could go as high as he could, Mr. Potter released the Snitch that he had apparently kept for nineteen years, and told S-1 to wait. After about thirty seconds, he was allowed to go. He launched into the air, and hovered for a while. He spotted the Snitch, and dashed after it. It took six minutes and forty three seconds for him to catch it, land, and tap Mr. Potter on the shoulder.

He grinned, and they made their way to Dumbledore, who was apparently the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Dumbledore somehow knew what he was going to ask, and said, "Yes, Harry, I'm sure we can allow him to play without a broom, though I'm not sure how other teams would like it."

"I've got it figured out," Harry said, "All S-1 has to do is go for a flight apparently for the fun of it, at a time just before others come out—possibly on the first weekend. Then, the reception will surely ask if he plans to try out for the Quidditch team. He will ask if he should, and voila!"

"Interesting plan," Snape drawled, "Though it would help his chances if his name didn't have a number in it."

"That," Dumbledore said, nodding, "should be fixed as soon as possible. I was thinking of rearranging the letters of his current full name."

"Like Voldemort did?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed, "But no titles. Just a name. Now, S-1, what is Invictus Stark's full name?"

"His full name," S-1 said, "is Invictus Refractus Infernus Unoctus Striatus Stark."

"Oh my. Rather long, isn't it?"

"I've got it!" Mrs. Weasley said, "The initials! Your initial is 'S!' That's followed by Invictus' initials, so it's S-I-R-I-U-S! Sirius Stark!"

"Oh, bravo," Dumbledore said, clapping, "And we didn't even have to rearrange anything!"

Needless to say, Sirius was pleased that he now had a 'real' name. And so was the other Sirius.

"Hear that, everyone?" he asked, "Now I've got two people named after me!"

Snape, however, was not pleased. "Oh, the horror!" he said sarcastically. Although, he did look wide eyed, so Sirius had a hard time telling if he was joking or really meant it.

"I wonder if he'll channel his spirit?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"I don't think I want to know," Lupin said. "At least he's not a Metamorphmagus. Teddy gets into enough trouble without being named 'Sirius' or being able to fly or Apparate."

"What's a Metamorphmagus?" Sirius asked.

"A wizard who can change his form to become someone else," Mrs. Weasley supplied.

"Oh, I can do that," he said to much groaning. Snape actually banged his head on the table. "Alpha likes it. I turn into sparrows and other birds all the time. I imitated Invictus once. He saw me though, and I think I still have the scar…" He turned around and felt his back under his shirt. "Yep, still got it."

"Don't tell me that you can do Elf magic too," Mrs. Weasley said.

"Oh, well, okay," Sirius replied.

"Wait, can you?" Black asked.

"Yes," Sirius said.

"I said don't tell me!" Mrs. Weasley said, groaning.

"But I didn't!" Sirius said, "I told Mr. Black."

As half the group grinned and the other half groaned, Dumbledore said, "It seems that he does indeed channel Mr. Black." Suddenly he sighed. "We are in for a rough year, Severus. I shall alert the others." He waved his wand, and a glowing silver Phoenix erupted from it, flying away overhead.

The party chatted away a while, and then they went back inside. It was decided that Sirius would reside in one of the spare rooms. They all sat in the living room, discussing work and life in general. The kids turned to the subject of houses.

"What House do you think you'll be in while at Hogwarts?" Rose asked Sirius.

"Er… won't I be living at Hogwarts?" he replied.

"Yes, but—oh! You don't know about the school houses! There are four, you see. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Brave people go into Gryffindor—it's the best House there is! You go into Ravenclaw if you're intelligent, Hufflepuff if you're hard working or you don't fit in any of the others, and Slytherin if you're ambitious. Slytherin has produced the most Dark wizards ever. It's considered evil. So, what House do you think you'll be in?"

"I," Sirius replied, "have two questions. First of all, wouldn't you go into Hufflepuff if you have all the other traits too? Since you can't just go into one of the others?"

Rose thought about it. It made sense in Sirius' logic.

"I… guess you would!" she agreed, "What's the other question?"

"Why does Slytherin produce the most Dark wizards ever? It can't be a coincidence."

"Umm… let's ask the grown-ups. They're older, and probably have more experience with these things." So they all made their way to the adults.

"Hey, Dad?" Albus said, "Why does Slytherin have the most Dark wizards?"

"I don't know," he said thoughtfully, "They say that Slytherins have a habit of wanting to be better than everyone else, but it should be good to have inter-House rivalry."

"Are people afraid of Slytherins?" Sirius asked. He had an idea, from the way that Rose had said they were considered evil.

"Mm… not necessarily. People generally dislike Slytherins, or don't trust them, but I can't say that they're afraid."

"Well then," Sirius pressed thoughtfully, "Is it possible that the reason Slytherins produce lots of Dark wizards is because of the mistrust and hate? I mean, if they get tormented enough, just for being who they are, then won't they eventually want to rise above the rest and make them sorry for it? Especially if, as you said, they want to be better?"

He nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah," he said, "I suppose that does make sense… Voldemort was afraid of death, but everyone else wasn't… so he tried to do something none of them could…"

"Severus turned bad due to neglect and bullying," Dumbledore supplied.

"Draco due to peer pressure, he wanted to meet expectations," Snape said.

"Huh," Potter said, smiling, "I guess we've figured out one of the mysteries of Hogwarts! Any other questions?"

"Yes," Sirius said, at the same time as everyone else shook their heads. "What makes a wizard 'Dark'?"

He exchanged glances with the others. He then took a deep breath and said, "You might want to sit down. This conversation may take a long time."

Sirius did so, as did the others.

"A Dark wizard is a wizard who dabbles a lot in the Dark Arts. Before you ask what makes Dark Magic Dark, it is magic whose primary intent is to harm someone, like the Killing Curse or the Torture Curse."

"What about the Hover Charm? Wouldn't that be more sinister, since your opponent wouldn't expect it and you could levitate them off a cliff?"

"Yes," he said, nodding, "But it's not considered Dark Magic because it can be used for things other than hurting someone. The Killing or Torture Curses are used primarily for causing harm or death."

"Are all Curses Dark? Couldn't you, say, use the Blasting Curse to free a friend from debris, like a fallen pillar? Or, couldn't you use the Gemino Curse to double the amount of bandages available for them?"

At this, Potter looked to Dumbledore, who was smiling.

"I have always felt," he said, "that many spells are inappropriately named, for they can be used for good as well as bad. You see, using Dark Magic does not necessarily make the user evil. All magic can be used for different purposes. Curses are identified as such, because their primary use is to harm others, instead of healing. If you used a Curse to heal, I doubt one could call you a Dark wizard."

"But then, how do I know which spells to use and which not to?" Sirius asked, confused.

"You will know in your heart, and perhaps your head, if you know Latin."

Sirius sighed. "That'll have to do, I suppose…"


	2. Diagon Alley

_**I own nothing of the Harry Potter Universe!**_

* * *

The rest of the week passed the same way, with Sirius learning something new about the world everyday. Most of this information came from Hermione—everyone insisted that he call them by their first names—who was seemingly always happy to educate him. In return, he informed her of what he learned while he was being raised by Invictus, and showed her the lesson plan he was required to carry around. Seemingly, he had finished all his lessons. Now all that remained was to practice Elf Apparition, something he was _not _looking forward to.

But Harry insisted that he do it, in case of emergency situations; so, seven times everyday, he would Apparate somewhere, and call Sirius' name. Sensing this, Sirius would then be required to bring a few people along with him, without splinching anyone. As it turned out, this was not a very daunting prospect—no one minded Elf Apparition, and he eventually grew used to the feeling. They stopped practice on the sixth day since Sirius' arrival, when he could Apparate with the whole party in a chain.

Then, Ginny insisted that they go to Diagon Alley early, for the reason that since it was unknown whether or not Sirius had parents, it may take forever to find a wand. After all, if he was _created _instead of born, like Alpha, then there may no be a suitable wand in all of Ollivander's.

So, it was agreed. They went to Diagon an hour later, by taking the Knight Bus to the Leaky Cauldron; once there, Sirius was told to go wait inside Ollivander's while the rest went shopping for books, where extra hands would be necessary.

"Just call me if you need help," Sirius had offered.

It turned out that Ollivander's was run by a young wizard, in his early twenties. When he saw Sirius, he smiled, and made his way over to him.

"And how may I help you, young man? Looking for a wand?" he asked.

"Well," Sirius said, "I'm not quite sure. We came to Diagon Alley to get me wand, since it's unknown whether or not I have parents. But, I was told to wait here, while the rest went to buy the books. Apparently, it's a risky business."

Mr. Ollivander chuckled, and said, "Yes, yes, it is! Many years ago, there were books that literally bit you, and before them there were books that were invisible, so you could trip over them without knowing _what _you tripped over! Your company was right my boy, buying books _is _dangerous business."

"Too right," said a voice. Turning around, Sirius saw that it was Harry. The others were still at Flourish and Blotts. "Hello, Lyon."

"Harry Potter, so good to see you again!" Ollivander said, as he shook hands. "Holly and Phoenix feather, if I remember my uncle's notes correctly. Great that you could fix it, really. Now, this young man"—he indicated Sirius—"is apparently waiting for his company."

"I'm his company, actually," Harry said.

"Oh? But he said he was unsure whether he had parents… were you pulling my leg, boy?" he asked, confused.

"That's actually perfectly legitimate. You see,"—he leaned close to Ollivander and began whispering—"he is presumably one of the experiments of that dung farm, Invictus Stark."

"You don't say," he replied, studying Sirius carefully. "Now I know why you came early. Let's get started. This may well take all day, thank goodness there are no other customers… can you imagine the grumbling?" He threw a measuring tape at Sirius, and it stopped just before it hit his nose. It began measuring _everything_, including the short and long radii of his ears, the length of his longest hair, and between the nostrils. When it was done, an inscription appeared on its surface, and it zoomed to Ollivander, who was looking in shelves at the back.

"Ah," he said, looking at it, "As I thought. It seems that _you_, Mr…uh…sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Stark," Sirius supplied, "Sirius Stark."

"Ah," Ollivander said, nodding, "Well, Mr. Stark, it seems that you are the Pine type. I haven't a lot of those, so it shouldn't take long to find a match." And with that, he went to look in the section labelled 'Yew'. "Let's see… the longer ones would do best, I think…" He brought over five or six boxes. He opened one, and handed the wand to Sirius. "Wave it," he said, "and see what happens."

Sirius rotated his wrist out and flicked down, causing Ollivander's hair stand on end with static. Shaking his head wildly, he patted his hair down with one hand, while snatching the wand away with the other. He was given another wand, longer this time, and this one caused the back wall to explode, which in turn made everyone jump.

After trying every other one, Ollivander said, "I'm sorry. None of these wands chose you. Perhaps you should try another wand maker? Although, that second one was the most compatible we could find. Yew and Phoenix feather, sixteen inches—very unusual, though predictable, in your case—very flexible. I think you should try different cores until you find the perfect one. Again, I am very sorry."

"It's fine, I can still do magic, see?" Sirius said, levitating the boxes and fixing the wall. "Although, I don't think Elf magic can Transfigure things…"

"Lyon," Harry asked suddenly, "how long would it take to _make _a wand? I have a hunch on the perfect wand core for Sirius."

"_Make _a wand?" Lyon said, incredulous, "Well that would depend on the availability of the wood and the core."

"What if I can get you the core today, and you can replace the core in the wand you mentioned?" he asked conspiratorially.

"I can have it done in a day."

"Thanks, Lyon."

"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander," Sirius said gratefully, "But I haven't got any money."

"No problem, Sirius, I was planning on taking you to Gringotts to open an account anyway! But first, can you call Alpha? I think one of his feathers will be the perfect core, as he's attached to you."

"Oh, yeah! Why didn't I think of that? Alpha!" Sirius exclaimed, and the bird in question appeared on his shoulder in a flash of fire, scaring poor Mr. Ollivander. "Would you be willing to sacrifice one of your flight feathers? None of the cores here seem to work, you see."

Alpha butted his head against Sirius' and held out his wing. Smiling, Sirius plucked a small one from his inner wing, but as he was going to give it to Ollivander, he was forced to stare, wide eyed, at Alpha's wing. Where the feather had been plucked, a small flame was twinkling. It grew wider, and came farther out, and trailing it was a small black feather, exactly the same as the one that was plucked. When it was completely regrown, Alpha had a look in his eyes that said, "beat that!"

Sirius grinned, and stroked Alpha's head while giving the feather to a gawking Ollivander.

They left the shop, and headed toward Flourish and Blotts. Ginny and the others came out just then, and they exchanged plans: Ginny's company would go to Ollivander's to get wands, while Harry and Sirius would go to Gringotts and open an account, and meet them at Florean Fortesque's Ice Cream Parlour.

Gringotts, as it turned out, was not a large grey building with glass panels, as he had imagined, but an incredibly enormous white structure, with no windows at all. There was an inscription on the door, but there was no time to read it, as Harry led him quickly inside, and straight ahead to a desk. Sitting at the desk was a wicked looking creature with small, sharp teeth, and pale, wrinkled skin. It's ears, which were pointy, were twitching slightly as it worked. This, Sirius assumed, must be a Goblin.

Harry cleared his throat, getting the goblin's attention. He smiled at it, and it grinned at him.

"Potter! How may I help you?" it asked quietly.

"Well, I'm not really here for me, I'm here for him," he said, indicating Sirius. "He needs an account."

He peered down at Sirius, who smiled and waved at him, causing the Goblin to grin.

"Very well," he said, "I'll need you to write your name, sign next to it, get a blood sample, and I need to see your wand."

"Er, I… um… don't… my wand is still being made. None of the cores worked, so Mr. Ollivander had to begin on a new one." Sirius hesitantly said.

"Fine, fine," the Goblin said, "If you can tell me the wood, length, rigidity, and core, it will do until you get it."

"Pine, sixteen inches, very flexible, and, um, Alpha's feather."

"Sorry, _what _feather?" the Goblin said.

"Uh, well, like I said, none of the cores worked, so we're trying the feather of my bird, Alpha. We don't actually know what species he is—he' a hybrid of about seven."

The Goblin sighed. "Very well," he said again, "Pine, sixteen inches, very flexible, unknown core. Write you name—your _full _name—and sign next to it"—Sirius did so—"Now, hold out your finger." He did so, and he Goblin to a very skinny knife, and pricked his finger. Taking a drop of blood at the tip, he reached into his drawer and pulled out a glass vial. He dropped the blood into it, and sealed the vial. The knife's blade turned into silvery smoke even as Sirius watched, and was replaced by a new one. He replaced it in his drawer, and asked Sirius to write his name on and sign the vial. Sirius did so, and the Goblin said, "Congratulations, Mr. Stark, you have opened your own Gringotts account. As you have no wizard money, a loan of five hundred Galleons will be added to your vault."

"Thank you, sir," Sirius said.

While the Goblin looked at Sirius as if he had grown an extra head, Harry said, "That won't be necessary, Graystone. I'm transferring five thousand Galleons to his vault."

After the two seconds it took for this to sink in, Sirius said, "Wait, what? No, no, no. That's entirely unnecessary, I can manage with the five hundred."

"What? You've been tortured for eleven years, you _have _to accept it. Do you know how underfed you are? Not to mention that you've missed about eleven years worth of presents for your birthday and Christmas."

"Yeah," Sirius insisted, "but I'm fine with that. Besides, how will I learn to manage my money if you spoil me so early on?"

Harry studied Sirius speculatively, and finally agreed. "Fine," he said, "but if you need any, _ask_, okay?"

Sirius nodded, and they thanked Graystone the Goblin and left for Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Ginny and the others were there already, and as Alpha flew off to meet them, Sirius noticed that Ron and Hermione and their kids were there too.

"Hey, Harry, Sirius!" Hermione greeted, "Got your wand?"

"It's supposed to come in a day or two, due to core incompatibility," Sirius said.

"Why, what happened?" Ron asked.

"None of the cores worked," Harry supplied, "so I suggested replacing the core of the most compatible wand with one of Alpha's feathers."

"What was the wand originally?" Hermione inquired.

"Pine and Phoenix feather, sixteen inches, very flexible," Sirius recited. "Blasted a hole in the back wall."

"Hide your feet, Sirius," Harry suddenly said, "and your name is Ryan Mathews! It's Arneybol Dridgew!"

Sirius turned to look, and sure enough, a tall, lean man with graying hair was walking towards them, with a badge that said, '_Arneybol Dridgew, Head Auror'._ "Potter! Long time, no see, man, eh?"

Harry forced a grin, and said, "Mr. Dridgew, fancy seeing you here! Come to enjoy some ice cream while the weather's warm?"

"Oh, I only wish, Harry, I only wish. No, you see, Flourish and Blotts has apparently got a cursed book, I've been sent to investigate. Tedious business, checking books. I bet some oaf dropped it there from Borgin and Burke's! So, these all yours, then?" he asked, indicating the kids.

"Ah, no, just the two black haired boys and red head little girl."

"Which two black haired boys?" Dridgew asked.

Harry pointed at Albus and James, and then said, "The third is a guest, Ryan Mathews. His parents are checking out Diagon. They're Muggles, you see." When Dridgew spun around, as if expecting them to be right behind him, Harry looked at Sirius and mouthed, "_backyard!" _

Sirius took this to mean the Harry wanted him to Apparate to the backyard. He nodded, and looked toward Madam Malkin's. "Coming, Mum!" he yelled, "I have to go now," he added, "thank you for your service! Auror Dridgew, pleasure meeting you! Bye now!" And with that, he dashed off.

Of course, he didn't really go into Madam Malkin's, he ducked into an alley. However, he had no intention of Apparating home; he did what Alpha had always loved when he did, and turned into a sparrow. Since he could talk to Alpha now, he heard and understood everything he said.

"You're not really Apparating home, are you?" he asked.

Sirius shook his head. "I'm going to listen to what's being said. Wanna come?"

Alpha sighed. "Might as well," he said, "There's no knowing what sort of trouble you'll get into if I don't tag along."

So, Alpha and Sirius flew out of the alleway, and perched atop the ceiling of Florean Fortescue's.

"…and of course, the Obliviators ad to be called in to deal with it all. I wonder if the Mathews have gotten Obliviated, before they had their son?"

At this point, Lyon Ollivander ambled up to them, and said, "Ah, Mr. Potter! It's about the wand!"

"Uh, oh," Sirius whispered, "What do I do, Alpha?"

Alpha, who Sirius guessed also understood the problem, said, "Well, what would Sirius Black do? He was troublesome, wasn't he?"

"I've an idea!" Sirius said, and soared into the alley next to the building. He focused into becoming human again, but made sure to be a bit shorter, so that his robes covered up his feet. He changed his face into one he'd seen when coming to Diagon Alley, of a little boy. He changed hs hair color to brown, and eye color to blue, and rushed out of the alley.

"…who's Sirius?" Dridgew was saying, "Not Sirius _Black_, surely. He has a wand, doesn't he?"

Sirius ran—purposely very loudly—towards Dridgew, and tugged on his sleeve.

"Excuse me, sir," he squeaked, "Are you an Auror?"

Dridgew smiled and said, "Why yes, m'boy, as a matter of fact, I am! How can I help you?"

"Well you see," Sirius panted, "people are complaining about a cursed book in Flourish and Blotts, and I wanted to get help and"—At this point, there was a loud screech from Flourish and Blotts' direction—"Oh, no! I think it's gotten someone! Quick, hurry!"

Looking flustered, Dridgew dashed away, surprisingly quickly, while Harry called, "We have to be going too, goodbye, Mr. Dridgew!"

Dridgew waved over his shoulder, and Alpha soared from the top of Flourish and Blotts.

"Nice touch, Alpha," said Sirius, and Alpha hooted a thanks.

"Wh—_Sirius_?" Harry blurted.

Sirius changed back to his original state. "I thought you might need help, so I stuck around as a sparrow. Let's take this elsewhere, before he comes back."

Harry nodded, grinning, while everyone else was gawking at Sirius.

"Thanks, by the way," Harry said as they walked to Eeylops Owl Emporium.

"No problem. Why don't you like him?" Sirius asked.

"It's not that I don't like him," Harry said, "It's just that he doesn't notice anyone else while I'm around … really annoying, actually. What was it you wanted, Mr. Ollivander?"

"Oh, yes," Ollivander said, "I wanted to tell you, that the wand core replacement will be done quite sooner than I had thought. I usually wait for other customers to finish before beginning to make a wand, but when I started this time, the wand literally opened before I could think of doing anything. I've replaced the core now, it will just take a couple more hours for the wand's seams to close off while in the magical resin. I was wondering if you would like to wait for it, or if you would prefer it delivered to you?"

"Oh," Harry said, surprised, "Well, we were going to buy Albus an owl, so could we stop by when we're done?"

"Oh, certainly, certainly."

"Oh, but Lyon," Harry cautioned, "Make sure Dridgew doesn't come questioning about Sirius. He can be a bit … over enthusiastic about people related to criminals. He won't buy the true story, if you know what I mean."

"Understood, Mr. Potter," Ollivander said, "I'll put on the 'closed' sign while I wait."

"Thanks, Lyon."

"Thank you, sir!" Sirius said.

Ollivander nodded, and swiftly walked away to his shop.

Sirius turned to Harry, and asked, "What do mean, 'related to criminals'?"

"Invictus Stark is notorious for messing around with the genetic structure of living things. He's made House Elves breathe fire and Hippogriffs pee tea. He's even bred a plant that threw up diamonds every week. We had it killed, seeing as the economy could become corrupted by it. But the point is, he is 'playing Merlin', messing around with things that should never be messed around with. Like you said, 'that's why we had to _make _wands'."

"So he's altering the DNA of things with magic?" Sirius asked, wide eyed, "I thought he only _created _living things."

Harry nodded grimly. "Magic and Muggle technology. He's using magic where Muggles have failed, and to speed up processes."

"Excuse me," Ron said, "But could someone fill me in? What's 'DNA'? And what's the 'genetic structure'?"

"I'll explain when we get home," Hermione said, "Maybe you all should stay at our place tonight. The kids don't know what those things are, either."

"Nor do I," Ginny said, "But now is the time for fun. Why don't you and Alpha go look around, Sirius?" she asked with a smile.

"Okay," Sirius replied, and walked toward Albus.

Albus, seeing him—and probably hearing the _clack, clack _of his feet, turned around, and smiled. "It's a Eurasian Eagle Owl," he said, and sure enough, there, in the cage, a large tufted bird with golden eyes stared at him and Alpha.

Alpha hooted, and the other owl replied with a low hoot of its own. Alpha fluttered onto Albus' shoulder, and cocked his head as if saying, "this one?" The other owl blinked. Alpha flew back to Sirius, and turned to the Eagle Owl, then to Albus, and then to him.

"What's happening?" Albus asked.

"I think," Sirius said slowly, "That this owl wants you." He looked to Alpha for confirmation, and he blinked. "Yeah. Alpha says that he said he wants you."

Albus looked thoughtfully at the Eagle Owl. "He _is _handsome …"

Sirius didn't know if he imagined it, but the Eagle Owl seemed to sit up straighter.

"Well, okay then! It's decided." Albus raced to his parents, and brought them over.

"I like his eyes," Ginny said, "They look so … kind, and warm."

"What are you going to call him?" Harry asked.

"Wh—so we're buying him?" Albus asked hopefully.

"Well, yeah. Ginny has no problem with him. I have no problem with him. Sirius or Alpha don't have a problem with him. He looks hopeful, too, or maybe it's my tired old eyes … but yes, we're buying him."

"Yes!" Albus said, and the owl hooted loudly.

After making the purchase, and naming the owl 'Aurum'—which was convenient, as its eyes were golden—they decided to let it out of its cage. It perched on Albus' shoulder while they made their way into Ollivander's.

"Ah, Potters and Weasleys and Mr. Stark! Shouldn't take long now—you'll be glad to know that Auror Dridgew has not come here at all. In fact, I saw him come out of Flourish and Blotts and Disapparate not half an hour ago!"

"Oh, good," Harry said, as Ollivander disappeared into a room at the back.

"Oh, Mr. Stark!" Ollivander called, "Your wand is ready!"


	3. Hufflepuff!

**_I own nothing of the Harry Potter universe!_**

* * *

"James, are you ready yet?" Ginny's voice rang through the almost empty house. It was Friday, September the first, 2017.

"Yes, Mum, I'm just fixing my hair!" James replied.

Sirius briefly wondered if it was always this hectic in this house when they had to go somewhere. Something tapped his shoulder opposite to the one where Alpha was perched. Turning around, Sirius saw Harry.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked quietly. Sirius, deciding this was not the way Harry normally was, knew it was something serious. He was briefly amused by the fact that his name sounded like 'serious'. But it didn't last long, for Harry began quietly speaking when they were in the dining room. "Listen well, Sirius, and remember all of this. You remember that day we met Arneybol Dridgew?"—Sirius nodded—"Yes? Well, I've already told you that he won't take kindly to the fact that someone who knows Invictus personally is going to Hogwarts. Yes, he knows. I don't know how, but he knows that Sirius Stark is going to Hogwarts. But, he has no idea that you're him. I've already convinced the Professors to call you Ryan Mathews, and everyone you met when you arrived, and a few others, knows to do so as well. This brings us to another equally important matter: Invictus.

You told me that Invictus Crucioed you when he saw you with the letter. But, I do not believe for one second that this was simply because you got mail. I—we, actually, the Aurors know this too—believe that he doesn't want you to go to Hogwarts. We don't know exactly why, but we know that it's going to interfere with some grand plan of his. Now, I don't want you to think I'm just telling you to be careful so Invictus doesn't succeed; I want you to go to Hogwarts as much as you do. I'm just saying why it is _extra _important for you to not get caught."

Sirius was confused. "But, you told me that the Aurors think me going to Hogwarts will stop Invictus' plan. So why does Dridgew want to catch me?"

"Because the theory I told you is only one theory. Another says that Invictus sent you to Hogwarts so that you could get a hold of the students, and bewitch them for Invictus."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "He thinks a first year can do that?"

"Apparently," Harry said, "being raised by Invictus automatically means you are an expert in the Dark Arts."

"Shame he doesn't know I was raised _with _Invictus and not _by _him … so what's this plan you think he has?"

"The plan … I've told you about his experiments, right? The tea peeing Hippogriff, and the diamong puking plant? And then there's Alpha—what do those three have in common?" Harry asked.

"Umm … mind if I think aloud?" Sirius asked. When Harry shook his head, he began. "Well, the obvious thing is that they were made by Invictus … so the similarity must be the _reason _they were made, their purpose … which can be found by connecting features … tea—is tasty, relaxing, made by humans. Diamonds—pretty, expensive, take millions of years to form. Alpha … is awesome, can Apparate, breathe fire, has teeth, super intelligent—probably designed as the perfect pet. The connection … labor … time … convenience … defense … Oh! They were all made to reduce the amount of work and time Invictus would normally have to invest in doing regular things."

"That's right," Harry said, nodding, "And, what's more, they're difficult to make. You see, the theory we've so far agreed upon is that Invictus is bored. No, really. He likes intellectual challenges, but he's a psychopath. He has no emotion. Or at least, he doesn't act on them. He wants to test 'ifs', you see. He wants control—everything at his disposal, without him having to do work. I suppose Muggles would call it 'wanting to take over the world'. But it's not that simple. He doesn't want to control the _whole _world—just enough. He wouldn't find fun if there were no enemies. Unfortunately, I think he got an enemy that would ruin him when he created you."—he smiled—"Yeah, I'm sure that he really wanted you to be the first in his line of slaves. I don't think he meant for you to rebel. That's why he was so angry when he saw the letter. He believed—and rightly so—that you would rebel against him. These are all theories, of course, but if they're right, he will want to take you out of the equation."

"You mean … he'll try to kill me." Sirius said wearily.

Harry nodded grimly. "I considered not telling you this, for your peace of mind. But I remember what it was like when I didn't have the right information. I accused Severus of trying to kill me numerous times. As it turns out, he was spying on Voldemort. I am telling you this so that you don't have incomplete information. Invictus will try to kill you, Sirius, so be cautious. Stay with your friends. And if you find yourself in a dangerous situation, don't hesitate to get out of there by any means necessary. But, the good news is that Invictus won't be looking for Ryan Mathews. He'll probably be listening for mentions of the name 'Stark', which means you will be safe until it gets out that you are Sirius. And it _will _get out, one way or other. I recommend you tell Albus and the others later, and any close friends you may make at Hogwarts. There's safety in numbers … especially if Invictus decides he wants an _army _of slaves." He clapped Sirius on the shoulder and went to wait outside, by the car.

Sirius followed, slowly, while thinking about what had been said. _Great, _he thought, _not even at Hogwarts and someone's already trying to kill me. Still, I suppose it'll take __years_ _for Invictus to breed an army … __unless he doesn't breed it_! He looked down at his feet. _Mechanical, _he thought, _What if he creates a __mechanical_ _army?_

He walked to a spot next to Albus. Albus must've seen the depressed look on his face, for he asked, "Why so glum?"

Sirius sighed. "Oh, nothing," he said in the dejected state he was in, "It's just … a psychopathic nutter wants to do me in, that's all."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Albus start and look up at his father. "You know, Sirius, when I said you could tell them, I thought you might be subtle," Harry said with a smile.

"Yeah, well," Sirius said, "I decided to take the Harry Potter approach. You know, tell them what needs to be told."

This made Harry chuckle as Ginny and James finally left the house.

Ginny asked, "What are you laughing about, dear?"

Surprisingly, it was Lily who answered. "A psychopathic nutter wants to do Sirius in, Mum!"

Ginny gaped. "And you're _laughing _about it? Harry James Potter, what is wrong with you?"

Harry, still grinning, said, "I wasn't laughing about _that_, Ginny, I was laughing at what is apparently known as the 'Harry Potter approach'. You know"—he winked at Sirius—"saying what needs to be said."

"You told him, then?" she asked as they got into the car.

"Yeah. I figured he'd find out anyway—though I would prefer if it be by me telling him than by him fainting in the middle of the Great Hall from a poisoned turkey leg."

"Sirius," James said, "What are you going to say when people ask what happened to your feet?"

Ginny shrieked as Harry made a sharp turn. "Harry!" she reprimanded.

"Sorry, sorry," Harry amended, "I can't believe we never discussed that! Sirius! What are you going to say?"

"Umm … I was attacked by a Hippogriff?"

"How? You're supposed to be Muggleborn." Harry reminded.

"Oh, right … umm … whoever asked is hallucinating?" he tried.

"Hah!" Harry laughed, "That'll only be good until you try out for the Quiditch team. I mean, you could fly by partially Apparating, but it's better to conserve such energy."

"How about, I was born this way?" Sirius asked.

"Hmm … might work on the Purebloods, but it won't fool the Muggleborns. Tell them you were born without feet, and that those were built and charmed for you when you got your Hogwarts letter, and that you made adjustments allowing you to fly."

"That's partly true," Sirius agreed, "I did make adjustments to Invictus' original system. But won't I need an excuse for flying before everyone else?"

"Well," Ginny said thoughtfully, "First years are now allowed brooms and can make the House teams, since Harry showed off all those years ago. So, Albus and James can join you … you could have—I dunno, a flying contest—agility and all that."

"Then it's settled. James, Albus and I will go out onto the pitch early Saturday morning to show off our supposedly awesome Quidditch skills." Sirius recited.

"I never thought I'd see the day," Albus claimed.

"What day?" Harry asked.

"The day when the words 'early' and 'Saturday' would be used in conjunction."

When the squad got to the train station thirty minutes later, Sirius levitated everyone's trunk into the compartment when no one was looking, which caused some confusion. Finally, they pointed it on Sirius, who maintained an innocent face. This was easy, due to Invictus' harshness toward emotional displays.

So, they were able to board that much quicker. He, Albus, and Rose stepped onto the train, and went down the aisle, looking for an empty compartment. However, Albus seemed to be looking for a specific compartment, for they passed many empty ones along the way. Finally, he grabbed Sirius' and Rose's arm to stop them going forward. He jerked his head toward the compartment closest, which contained a pale, blond boy with a pointed chin staring out the window.

Albus slid open the compartment door, catching the boy's attention. "Mind if we join you?" he asked with a smile.

The boy looked surprised for a second, but got over it and nodded.

Albus extended his hand, and said, "I'm Albus Potter. This is Rose Weasley,"—he glanced at Rose—"and Sir—uh, Ryan Mathews" he said, looking at Sirius, who smiled in greeting.

Sirius introduced the owls. Scorpius had an owl of his own, which he introuced as Argent. How strange. Albus had an owl called Aurum.

"Scorpius Malfoy," the boy said quietly.

"Do you like chocolate?" Sirius asked suddenly. It was clear that this guy had some social pressure, and he was determined to get him to overcome it.

Seemingly taken aback by this question, he stammered, "Y—yes, I suppose so, why?"

"Well," Sirius said, "I'm trying an experiment. See, I think it's possible to tell things about someone from their appearance, stature, etcetera. I can tell from your response, for example, that you suppose you like chocolate," he finished with a smug smile.

Scorpius' face was contracting muscles Sirius had no idea existed, but then suddenly, he snorted with laughter.

Rose sighed. "That wasn't obvious at all, Ryan," she said sarcastically.

"Mhm," Albus said, equally sarcastic, "You've got the brains of _several _geniuses in that skull of yours."

Scorpius, still grinning, said, "Okay, but what can you _really _tell about me?"

Sirius looked at him seriously—that still cracked him up—and decided, "Well, you've got perfectly sized robes, that makes you about middle class, at least. But that watch is pure silver and gold, and that's an emerald in the center, as far as I can tell, so you must be rich. Your quietness when we came in suggests that you are either not very social, or that you have some pressure in society. Since you're rich, I'm guessing you have many acquaintances, so that rules out the first one." Sirius stopped, and raised his eyebrows inquiringly.

"You don't know of the Malfoys?" Scorpius asked, catching the question.

Sirius shook his head no. "These two, on the other hand"—he indicated Albus and Rose—"probably do, but are not telling me."

"The explanation would be more accurate coming from a Malfoy," Albus said.

Scorpius sighed. "My father joined the Death Eater's ranks in his seventh year, and his father was a Death Eater long before that. My dad's grateful that Voldemort is gone now, but he said that I might have to deal with people hating me for what my predecessors did."

Sirius nodded. "The Harry Potter approach," he said approvingly, "always great for sharing information. And Scorpius, if everyone judged everyone by what our predecessors did, most of us would never have been born. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Thanks," Scorpius said, relaxing, "But the 'Harry Potter approach'?"

Albus sighed. "Dad has a habit of being very direct when it comes to sharing information."

"Oh," Scorpius said. Then he turned to Rose. "You've been quiet."

Indeed, Rose was staring intently out the window. "Look," she said, "there are shadows of people riding brooms."

Sirius, Albus and Scorpius stood and looked out the window. As he watched the shadows slowly advance, he wondered what it was with wizards and names ending with 'us'. He opened a window, stuck his head out, and looked up. He couldn't see their faces, but he could distinctly make out Arneybol 'Arney' Dridgew's skinny frame.

He told the others, and Scorpius wrinkled his nose. "Dridgew? As in the Head Auror? Ugh! He's always dropping by, that one, and he flirts with Mum every time! Dad used to get annoyed, now he doesn't care though. And he calls me"—he shook his head in disgust—"'_Scorpy_'!"

Sirius' snort was unheard as the trained screeched and came to a halt. He sat down quickly, and hid his feet under his seat. Unfortunately, he made a soft clanging noise, and Scorpius noticed. Sirius shook his head quickly as he saw Scopius open his mouth and widen his eyes.

The shadows outside were gone, but inside, there were voices.

"Which one of you is Sirius Stark?" said one, while another, closer than the first, asked, "Excuse me, but would you happen to know the whereabouts of one Sirius Stark?" All the while, similar demands were being made throughout the train.

Finally, their compartment door was slid open by none other than Arney Dridgew himself. "Oho!" he said, "Well, I know all of _you_, don't I? Misters Potter, Malfoy, Mathews! And Ms. Weasley! Well, we're looking for one Sirius Stark, as you probably heard. Know his whereabouts?"

All four shook their heads, faining innocent confusion.

"Ah, tough luck. Well, good bye, then!" And with that, he closed the door and headed on.

Scorpius glared suspiciously at Sirius. "You're him, aren't you?" he asked, "Sirius Stark?"

Sirius sighed. "Yeah. How did you know?"

Scorpius smirked. "Rose and Albus are _horrible _at looking innocent."

The kids in question just looked guiltily at him and shrugged. "Sorry," they said.

Sirius, being forgiving, shook his head. "Never mind," he said, "The Aurors didn't catch on. That would've been bad."

"They want you really badly," Scorpius said unnecessarily, "Dridgew was complaining to dad about how 'that Stark kid's been escaping the Ministry'. Even I knew that you'd never go by your real name … some Head Auror_, _huh?"

Sirius snorted. "You _cannot _tell anyone, Scorpius. _No one_. Except maybe your parents, if you think Dridgew won't be able to weasel it out of them."

"Sirius, no one can weasel _anything _out of my parents. They even carry antidote to Veritaserum in their pockets, and under their pillows," Scorpius reassured.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "May I ask _why_?"

"You may," Scorpius said.

"Why?" Sirius promptly asked.

"No idea," Scorpius replied.

"Alas," Rose said, "Sirius is channeling Sirius' spirit _everywhere_!"

"Alas," Albus agreed.

"Alas!" Sirius and Scorpius said in unison.

The rest of the trip passed in similarly entertaining conversations, about a great many things. Eventually, as is inevitable among soon-to-be first years, the conversation turned to what House they thought they would be in. Rose declared that she would be a Gryffindor for sure, but that Ravenclaw would be great too; Scorpius, unsurprisingly, claimed that he was a Slytherin to the bone. Albus surprised everyone by sharing that he would also like to be in Slytherin.

When questioned why, he said, "Well, I _was _hesitant at first, but Sirius' conversation with Dad sort of changed my mind. I'm going to destroy Slytherin's bad reputation, you'll see."

Scorpius nodded approvingly. "With ambition and terminology like that, you'll fit right in. And I'm sure the Slytherins would appreciate a break from all the 'evil House' crap. What about you, Sirius?"

Sirius thought about it. He tried many viewpoints, but he just couldn't think of a better House than—"Hufflepuff. I want to be a Hufflepuff."

It was silent for a few seconds. Then, Albus, Scorpius, and Rose burst into laughter.

"What?" he asked.

"_Hufflepuff_? You?" Albus choked out, "Hufflepuff is known as the 'leftover' House. Did you know that?"

Sirius nodded. "I heard some people saying so on the station. But, like you, Albus, I'm going to destroy Hufflepuff's duffer reputation. And I have a few ideas already …"

"Well," Rose said thoughtfully, "You have the ambition of a Slytherin."

"And the curiosity and ideas of a Ravenclaw," Albus added.

"If you're even _thinking _of something that hard," Scorpius added, "you definitely have the courage of a Gryffindor. You could go anywhere instead of Hufflepuff."

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, but what's the point of having courage if there's nothing or no one to be courageous _for_? And what are smarts if you don't apply them? And if I _am_ ambitious, and I _do _get power, then what's to stop me from becoming the next Dark Lord, if not for friendship? Hufflepuff has produced the least Dark wizards for a reason, and it's time people saw Hufflepuff for what it was."

"And that is?" Rose asked.

"Awesomeness," Sirius promptly replied, "Pure, infinite _awesomeness_! And the only House with black as a House color; can't get any better than that!"

Following the 'awesomeness' rant that came after Sirius' speech, the train ride went smoothly. The four talked about calmer topics like classes, teachers, and stories their parents had told them about their years at Hogwarts. When Albus came to the story of Harry and the Triwizard tournament, Sirius cheered wildly. For, of course, a Hufflepuff was chosen as the 'true' Hogwarts champion. He thought that he had convinced everyone else to love Hufflepuffs already. In fact, from the looks on their faces, he would be surprised if they didn't want to _be _Hufflepuffs. But just to make sure, he gave a speech. Or more like a quote from a book he had stolen from Invictus.

"Ahem," he said, "'It is not the strongest of the species that survives,'"—he reffered to the lion of Gryffindor—"'nor the most intelligent that survives.'"—he was reffering to the raven of Ravenclaw (which they had _finally _replaced from the eagle)—"'It is the one that is the most adaptable to change'. That's from Charles Darwin. That pretty much rules out the raven as it can't hunt when it's too windy and the lion as it only eats meat. And the snake since it's cold blooded. Which leaves the badger—an omnivore, and a mammal." He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat smugly.

The other three looked at each other.

"That makes sense," Scorpius said.

"I want to be a badger," Albus agreed.

"But not a Hufflepuff!" Rose said.

Sirius sighed as they all grinned.

A few minutes later, Sirius felt the train begin to slow. They hastily put their robes on, and Alpha, Aurum, and Argent settled on their favorite perches: on their owners' right shoulder. The train came to a halt, and the four walked to the end of the train and hopped off.

The four were met with a boom of "Firs' years! Firs' years this way!"

"That's Hagrid," Rose said happily, "Come on, I'll introduce you!" They were led by Rose to the enormous man, who was still shouting. It made Sirius' ears hurt. Even the owls were hooting.

That caught his attention. He beamed and said, "Hello, Rose! Albus! And who're yer friends?"

"This is Scorpius Malfoy," Rose supplied, and Scorpius shook Hagrid's giant hand. Sirius might have imagined it, but Hagrid's smile seemed to be strained. However, it became natural as soon as Scorpius mumbled that it was nice to meet him. "And this is … er …"

"Oh, I know you," Hagrid said, tipping an enormous wink, "_Ryan!_"

Sirius grinned. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Hagrid!"

"Jus' Hagrid, Ryan, jus' Hagrid," Hagrid said dismissively.

Eventually, the 'fir's years' were lead to a dock, where dozens of small wooden boats, and yet no paddles, lived. Hagrid called that there were to be 'no more'n four to a boat', and the four got into one. Hagrid, who needed a whole one, was at the back of the—Sirius supposed it was called a 'fleet'.

The 'fleet' moved when Hagrid gave the magical command, and soon, they were at the beach. They made their way to the awesome castle that blocked out almost all the sky from where Sirius was—although he supposed that it really _would _block the sky once he was inside. They entered through huge doors that somehow didn't creak, and Sirius found that a elderly woman in emerald robes was standing at the front of the Entrance Hall.

"My name," she said, "is Professor McGonagall. I am Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, and it is my duty and pleasure to inform you of the school's House and point system. The four Houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin, gain points for positive things such as answering questions correctly, exceeding in work, and winning competitions such as Quidditch matches. They can also loose points, for negativity such as bad behavior and disobeying the rules. At the end of the year, the House with the most points gets awarded the House cup, a great honor. Now, I suggest you smarten yourselves up while I inform the Headmaster that we are ready." With that, she left the Entrance Hall.

Sirius chose this time to look around. The Entrance Hall was huge. In fact, he had no doubt he could fit the entire Potter house in the room—assuming he could get it through the door. All around him, other soon-to-be first years were conversing in whispers, and fell silent suddenly when McGonagall came into the Entrance Hall.

"We are ready for you now," she announced. She led the way through smaller doors into a room even larger than the first. There were four long tables, with a House crest above each: a snake, a raven,—Sirius still couldn't believe it used to be an eagle—a badger,—Sirius grinned—and a lion. "When I call your name, you have only to sit on the stool"—she indicated a stool—"and put the Sorting hat on. It will dive into your mind and determine the best house for you. But first, the Sorting Hat will sing."

The Sorting Hat—Sirius found it a very cheesy name—opened up a tear near the brim, and began to sing. It was really more of a rhyming chant, as Sirius thought it. Still, it was a rather touching song:

Darkness can't be stopped

But halted can be the light.

So to stop a growing shadow,

Around it we must unite.

I'll sort you now, not to divide,

But so I may confide

The strength each of you can show.

Into Gryffindor you may go,

If in your heart is a fearless beast.

You could be Slytherin, you know,

If you treat with cunning

The challenges you meet.

Ravenclaw could be for you,

If intelligence you host,

Or perhaps Hufflepuff,

If your stregnth is to adapt the most!

So let me sort you,

Don't cower and hide!

After all, we are united

By the lines that divide!

This declaration was met with tumultuous applause, and Sirius thought it made sense. The line made sort of a bridge between them.

His musings were interrupted by McGonagall calling up 'Aberzer, Ian' to be sorted. He went to Gryffindor, as did 'Burke, Dennis' after him. 'Bartleby, Jane', however, became a Ravenclaw. And on it went, with the Sorting Hat taking longer with some and not so much with others. Eventually, it reached a familiar name:

"Malfoy, Scorpius," McGonagall read.

Scorpius walked up to the stool, carrying the Malfoy name proudly. The Hat took a while, and eventually—as in after three seconds—Sirius started to wonder what the Hat was thinking. He remembered the years of Legilimency practice Invictus had given him, but he dared not use it on a hat. It was, after all, supposed to be an inanimate object.

The whole Great Hall went dead quiet, because, in some strange twist of fate, Scorpius Malfoy became a—"GRYFFINDOR!"

The shameful lack of applause was disconcerting. He thought that Scorpius was nervous enough as it was, so he began clapping. Loudly. Soon, the entire Great Hall followed. The Gryffindors were grinning widely, and many had stood up and begun cheering. Apparently, Malfoys were in great demand.

Sirius thought this was a good time to invade Scorpius' mind.

_See?_ he projected, _Not so bad, huh?_

_Wh_—_Sirius_? Scorpius thought, _What the_ _hell__ are you doing in my head?_

_Supporting you. Now shut up and shake a few hands._

Scorpius did so, and then turned to Sirius and stuck his tongue out.

Sirius was next. "Mathews, Ryan!" McGonagall called.

Sirius strode swiftly, but carefully—he didn't want to expose his metal legs just yet—to the stool.

He sat down, the Hat was placed on—_over_, more like—his head, and it said, _Hmm, what do we have here?_

_A genetic experiment, most likely_, Sirius cheerfully thought.

_You_ _want__ to be a Hufflepuff? My, times have changed…_ the Hat said.

_How come your name is 'the Sorting Hat'?_ Sirius wondered.

_What else would it be?_ the Hat asked, curiously.

Sirius shrugged. _Larry?_ he suggested.

The Hat burst out laughing … and Sirius realized that it wasn't in his head. All the minds he could sense were shocked into stunned silence. _Oh, what chaos I could create with this personality… _he thought.

_Well, _the Sorting Hat declared, _I've decided to put you in Hufflepuff—where they could use you to liven up some things, so here goes: _"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat screamed.

_Yes! _Sirius thought, and he removed the Hat and strode—still swiftly and still carefully—to the Hufflepuff table.

Eventually, they got to 'Potter, Albus Severus' who was made a Slytherin like he wanted. More stunned silence. Again, it was Sirius who led the clapping, but was met with strange looks.

One of the students at the table hissed, "You're clapping for a _Slytherin_!"

Siriuis sniffed. "Well _someone _has to." More strange looks. Dumbledore, on the other hand, was delighted.

Rose became a Ravenclaw. This time, however, the entire Hufflepuff table took Sirius' lead and began clapping, even though the Ravenclaws were clapping as well. Sirius couldn't help but be proud of the change that had happened in a few short minutes.

Then Dumbledore rose, and announced that it was dinner time. As they ate, Sirius was introduced to some other Hufflepuffs. One of them, Travis Rogers, who was in third year, asked, "What did you do to make the Hat laugh?"

The eight or so students closest to the conversation looked at him. "I suggested that it adopt the name 'Larry'," he said simply.

The students ate heartily—except Sirius, who was too used to eating small amounts—and at the end of an hour, the food and plates disappeared. Dumbledore rose to his feet.

"Students, and staff, and ghosts, and Peeves!" he boomed, "Welcome to a year at Hogwarts! We have some new staff changes this year. Professor Slughorn retired prior to this year's beginning, and I'm happy to announce that his position will be filled by Professor Snape, who has many years of experience with the subject. Good luck, Professor!" And the student body began clapping. "Also, as Professor Snape no longer teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts, his position will be filled by Professor Lupin!" Again, applause. "Now, as I'm sure you remember, or can hopefully tell by the name, the Forbidden Forest is, in fact, forbidden. Don't go there unless you want to be eaten by something! Also, the Aurors have asked me to ask you to please report to me and me to them if you have any indication of the whereabouts of Sirius Stark. They claim that he is dangerous, like his creator, Invictus. I will not go into detail, but you should know that I have had the pleasure of meeting him, and is really quite an interesting character. So, I suppose I should change the announcement: if you have an indication of Sirius Stark's whereabouts, _do not _report to the staff. If you do, nothing will happen, but it saves us headache, as I think he will be making himself very obvious, very soon. Now, you will go to sleep, even though it's Saturday tomorrow, because that is tradition, and for some reason everyone falls asleep after the feast anyway, so … good night!"

The Hufflepuff Prefect, Eva Carlstone, led them to a stack of barrels. After instructing them to tap one specific barrel in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff', and stating that any suggestion on how to change the rhythm or barrel were welcome, she led them down a narrow tunnel. As Sirius entered the room on the other end, he couldn't help but feel … well, awesome.

It was perfectly round, with a low ceiling, and there were strange plants everywhere, that gave off a lovely aroma. The black and yellow sofas were extremely soft and puffy, and the blazing inferno in the fireplace only added to the sense of home.

Eva instructed them that the dormitories were reached through the tunnels behind the portholes, the boys' on the right side of the fireplace and the girls' on the opposite side. As he entered his dorm with twins Jerry and Terry Nox, Sean Browdusk, and Noah Tridescor, he couldn't help but think that it was good to be a Hufflepuff.


	4. Elven Magic

**SERENDIPITOUS means accidental, but resulting in a positive thing. You already know the disclaimer. And thanks for the review(s).  
**

* * *

Sirius woke up in a cozy black and yellow room. Pulling the covers off himself, he started thinking of what he would do this fine Saturday. For a fine Saturday it was—from the window, he had a fine view of the rippling grass and the blue sky, with a few puffy clouds floating blissfully.

Terry and Jerry Nox, both tall, skinny, and brown haired, woke up and yawned at the exact same time.

"Hello, Ryan," the twin he thought was Jerry said.

"Had a good rest?" who must have been Terry asked.

"Yes, and hello," Sirius cheerfully replied, "How about you two?"

At the same time, they said, "I had a dream I was chasing a giant marshmallow through Hogwarts!"

"Congratulation!" Sirius said. "Did you catch it?"

"Alas," Jerry said.

"No we didn't," Terry continued.

"For you see—"

"—the sun came up—"

"—and turned it into dust!"

"POOF!" they roared at the same time, waking up Sean and Noah.

"Blarrrgh," they complained.

"Bless you," Sirius said. "I'm going flying. Want to come?"

"Flying?" Jerry asked.

"Without breakfast?" Terry questioned.

"No way!" they finished.

"Of course not without breakfast! It is, after all, the most important meal of the day." Sirius declared.

They got ready, and headed down to breakfast. Albus, Rose, and Scorpius were already sitting at their House tables. When he sat down, he saw them get up and make their way over to him. The three sat down at the Hufflepuff table.

"Hey Ryan," Jerry said.

"Why is there a Ravenclaw, a Slytherin, and a Gryffindor sitting at the Hufflepuff table?" Terry asked.

"I have no idea," Sirius said nonchalantly, as his dorm mates and some others studied the three, "Although if I was to hazard a guess, I would say that it's because they do not wish to stand."

"Ha, ha," Scorpius said.

"Are you ready to show off your supposed 'without broom' flight or not?" Albus asked.

"'Cause we're ready to see it," Rose added.

"Patience, my other-House friends," Sirius said, "My same-House friends and I must ingest food for the breaking of the fast, that is breakfast. Okay, I'm ready." Sirius had just finished engulfing a sausage.

When Jerry, Terry, Noah, and Sean were finished, the group of eight headed to their respective dorms and got their brooms.

"Well," Noah stated as they got outside, "Here we are! And no one else is here!"

"Perfect," Sirius muttered. He bent his knees, jumped as high as he could, and activated his Micro-Repulsorlifts, last used in that unofficial Quidditch game at the Potters' place.

He could hear Albus, Rose, and Scorpius cheering, while Noah whistled and Sean swore. Looking down, he saw that Jerry and Terry were shocked into silence.

"Well come on," he called, "Grab your brooms!"

The seven on the ground mounted their brooms, and raced after him. They played a game of aerial tag, but, although one of them would catch Sirius occasionally, none could evade him for long. It was generally agreed that he would be the best Seeker Hufflepuff had in many years, and that for him to not try out would be an injustice.

As they continued the game, a crowd began to gather on the bleachers. They cheered when one of them perform a dive, or catch someone at the last minute, or evade someone narrowly.

Someone walked onto the pitch, and called, "Ryan!"

Zooming toward the ground, Sirius saw it was Eva Carlstone.

"I hope you tell me that you are trying out for Seeker," she said, "or I will be _very _disappointed. Hufflepuff hasn't won the Quidditch cup for thirteen years, and because of that, people don't want to try out anymore. But if _you _do, we can win, and get more people trying out!"

Seeing the hopeful look in her eyes, Sirius couldn't help but nod. This caused her to shriek in delight, and hug her friend that was closest.

She smiled and said, "You see, Eva's Quidditch Captain, too."

But not everyone was so enthusiastic. A Gryffindor, seemingly a third year, walked onto the pitch scowling. "He can't be on the Quidditch team! He hasn't got a broom!"

"Actually," Sirius supplied, "There's nothing in the extensive list of Quidditch rules about not being able to play unless you have a broom."

"That's no the point!" he insisted, "When you're controlling your flight, you're controlling yourself! When everyone else does, they're controlling their broom!"

"Well," Sirius explained, "advances in brooms have better and better agility, so you can just think of me as having a better broom than some others. Some people can afford better brooms, and some people can't; it's extremely unfair. In fact, you should be happy, seeing as I have no broom at all."

The older boy sighed. "I suppose you've still got to actually _find _the Snitch, anyway." And with that, he walked off.

A hand was placed on his shoulder. "Quidditch tryouts are next week," Eva said, "Specifics will be posted on the notice board—RYAN! You have metal feet!"

"Holy crap!" Sirius exclaimed, "I have metal feet! Next week, then? Good bye!" And with that, he walked off. Seeing as Eva had practically announced his cyborgism to the whole school, he could walk how he liked—dramatically, with his cloak billowing in a way hat would make Severus Snape jealous.

The other six raced after him.

"You have metal feet!" Jerry said.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Terry asked.

"You should probably tell them, you know," Scorpius said, "You share a dormitory, after all."

"Fine, fine. I am Sirius Stark." Sirius said.

Unfortunately, a gaggle of fourth year girls were in the same corridor, and close to them, so naturally, they ran of—probably to gossip.

"Well," Noah said, "Dumbledore was right. That was pretty obvious—you've disclosed the truth in the most efficient way possible. Gossip is many a spy's bane of existence."

"Yeah, but what if they send a letter home, about how I am here? The Aurors might catch it, and come here to abduct me. I'm thinking I might have to start learning to be invisible."

"_Invisible_?" Rose asked, "How?"

"It takes a Muggle raised child to understand. But it's possible, in theory. Especially in a magical world."

Sirius headed into the Great Hall, while everyone else went to drop off their brooms. Seeing Professors Snape, Longbottom, McGonagall, and Flitwick at the table reading, he made his way over to them.

Apparently, the rumors had already spread this far. The other students in the Great Hall were looking at him appraisingly, some craning their necks to look at his supposedly metal feet. He projected his thoughts into everyone at once, as best as he could: _Yes, I have metal feet, yes, I am Sirius Stark, no I have no intention of being the next Dark Lord. You there, stop picking your nose, _he added.

Severus looked up, smiling. "'Stop picking your nose'? Really?" he asked quietly.

Sirius shrugged. "They ruin the tables that way. Anyway, the rumor has spread, and I've just realized that some of these kids have Aurors as parents. I need to learn to become invisible."

McGonagall, who was drinking pumpkin juice, spit it back out, and Sirius narrowly avoided its spray. In fact, Severus was the only one unfazed.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked, "It's never been done before, you know. I don't even know _how _it's done."

"I have a theory," Sirius said, "But I need help to figure out the best way to act on it."

Flitwick took of his glasses and cleaned them. "Do explain," he squeaked.

"Well," Sirius began, "People see because light reflects off of a surface and into their eyes, right? And invisibility cloaks work by actively blending in with their surroundings from every angle. I'm not after something like that. I want to bend the light _around _me."

"Mr. Stark," he said, "That is way beyond the ability of a _first year_! And classes haven't even started yet! An Elf could probably do that eventually, but you'd need the combined magic of an Elf and wizard to do so within the year."

"Well, lucky for you, I've got that combination." Sirius said.

Flitwick's eyes widened. "Can you show me?"

"Sure. Grab my hand," Sirius said.

Flitwick did so, nervously. When Sirius was sure no one was looking, he Apparated to he corridor leading to the Great Hall with a _whoosh!_ Flitwick was, of course impressed. They went back to the table, where an Elf was waiting.

"Sirius," Severus said, to the confirmation of the listening students, "this is Spunky. He will be your mentor in Elvish Magic."

"Nice to meet you, sir," Sirius said, extending his hand.

Spunky looked at it as if it was a glowing diamond. He tentatively shook it, tears forming in his eyes. "We shall start now, Sir, if you is ready?"

"Certainly," Sirius said, "What would you like in payment?"

They were heading down up some stairs. "In return, Sir? You is too good to Spunky, we Elves are not wanting anything in return."

"Yeah," Sirius insisted, "But you all make our food, and keep Hogwarts clean, and many other things. Hogwarts wouldn't be the same without its Elves. Isn't there anything you—or all Elves—want? Or at least like doing?"

"We likes watching Quidditch!" Spunky told him.

"I can teach you to fly!" Sirius said.

"Ah," Spunky said, "Master is too kind, Elves are not allowed brooms!"

"I can teach you to fly _without _brooms," Sirius said. They were still going up the stairs. "We could fly to where you're taking us."

"We is going to the seventh floor, Sir," Spunky said dubiously.

"Grab my hand, Professor," Sirius said. Spunky did so, and Sirius relaxed his body. He willed it to fall apart below the chest, into trillions of tiny atoms … and he concentrated on moving ahead … ahead … ahead … he was flying! Looking at Spunky, he saw he was shocked. He looked at Sirius, who grinned. He sped up, dodging the moving staircases and landing on the seventh floor. He willed his body to come together again, now simple due to practice with Invictus. "How would you like to learn that, Professor? You could fly over the green grass of Hogwarts when you have free time, and teach the others perhaps."

Spunky merely nodded, still gaping. "Come, Sir, we shall go to the Come and Go Room."

As it turned out, the 'Come and Go Room' was a magical room that only appeared when someone had terrible need of something. For Spunky, it opened up into a great chamber filled with broken things and mice. Oh, and a rabbit, which Sirius immediately went to pick up.

Spunky explained that a list of all Elvish magic and instructions was found in the cabinet that would appear when he needed it, and that he was to practice when he was bored. Spunky also said that he was to be called when Sirius needed help. And with that, he was gone.

Sirius stood there, petting the rabbit's soft and fluffy fur. Then, he walked to the center of the room. _I need a list of Elvish magic and instructions on how to use it, _he thought. Nothing. He turned around. Nothing. He turned around once more. A cabinet stood a centimeter from his nose. Jumping back from surprise, he almost dropped the rabbit. He opened the cabinet, and saw, at the bottom, a long piece of parchment with neat writing. He picked it up, and skimmed the list. _Who knew, _he thought, _that Elves can Transfigure things?_

A paragraph at the top stated that _"While wizard magic is more varied, Elvish magic is more powerful and Elves learn magic earlier on—as infants in most cases. This is because while wizards can use magic, they themselves are not __magical__. Wizards are simply born with the ability of letting the Magical Energy, or Mana, into and through them. They do not contain Mana like Elves and other magical creatures. Consequently, wands do not choose the wizard for who they are, but for the kind of magic they filter, which is affected by their personality. This indirect use of magic is the reason wizards have to use spells—they have to command the Mana to perform magic, while Elves simply project the desired effects to do so. The reason wizard magic is more varied is that Elves, due to being enslaved early in their existence, had no time to create or modify enchantments. Below is a list and guide of the usage of Elvish magic that has been recorded by Elves. Additions welcome."_

The rabbit, dubbed 'George', was now asleep. "Let's see about conjuring you a blanket," Sirius muttered. He looked at the list, and Conjuration was the second thing there—after Telekinesis, which he had been doing since he was two.

The instructions read, _"Conjuration, like everything else in Elf magic, is intention based. Conjuring something (let us use a rubber duck as an example) involves knowing what you want to conjure, and where you want to conjure it. So, to conjure a rubber duck: first, allow the picture of a rubber duck to fill your head. Next, imagine what it would feel like. Now, determine where you want it to appear. Now, the final step: open up the Universe. Yes, open it up. In the previous lesson, Telekinesis, you manifested yourself in the form of Mana, thus using magic to lift objects like an extended arm. Now, use that arm to rip a hole in the Universe while focusing on the look, feel, and destination of the rubber duck. A small hole, just enough for the material to form itself into a rubber duck. This, with enough practice, should be able to conjure all manner of objects, except for food, or items with Magical Identifiers (i.e. Coins, manufactured clothing and products, etc.)."_

"Simple enough," Sirius muttered. He closed his eyes, and imagined a blanket … it was baby blue, with moving clouds … it felt soft, and was as fluffy as George's fur … he wanted it to appear in front of him … he opened his eyes. He slashed out his hand in front of him, and with a _whoosh _a blanket rushed out at him, impacting his chest. It was baby blue, and fluffy, but there were no clouds at all.

"Alas, George," he sighed, "No clouds for you, I'm afraid. But a fluffy blanket is more than most rabbits get anyway …" He covered George with it, and headed out with the list.

When he got to lunch, he discovered that Albus and Rose were sitting with Scorpius at the Gryffindor table. He went to join them, greeting James on the way. When he sat down, those nearest to him—except Rose, Albus, and Scorpius—stopped eating.

"This is the Gryffindor table," someone said.

Sirius, busy cutting steak, nodded. "Yes, it is, isn't it?"

People just shook their heads. "Can't believe it," someone said, "A Ravenclaw, a Slytherin, and now a Hufflepuff!"

"I know," Sirius agreed, "The state of the world is improving _vastly_!"

"Hey," the person said, "aren't you Sirius Stark?"

"Yup," Sirius replied.

"Ah, okay."

"Oh, Al, Rose, Scorpius," Sirius said, "Professor Snape got an Elf to teach me Elf magic, which should help me in my quest to become invisible. So you lot don't have to do anything until I master it—which should be sometime next week. Elf magic is apparently intention based."

The girl next to Scorpius, a seventh year, said, "You can't _learn _Elf magic, they're born with it!"

"And so was I," Sirius replied, "Professor Spunky's just helping me master it. I can do Telekinesis already; I've started conjuring now."

While everyone in hearing range marveled that a first year could do conjuring—completely ignoring that he said it was 'intention based'—Rose asked what was in the curriculum. He handed her the list. While Rose checked over the list, he ate his soup, having finished his steak.

Then Rose looked up at him. "Elves can be Animagi?" she asked.

Sirius nodded. "Like it says, Elves are born with a supply of Mana—it can't be measured in absolute terms. It's relative to body mass and intelligence, not to mention age. Since they're born with it, though, they can manipulate their quanta more easily than we can—an Elf can become an Animagus in one and a half weeks, by my estimate."

"So you could become an Animagus by the Thursday after next?" Albus asked.

Sirius shook his head. "I'm only part Elf. For me it would take three months. For you—without an Animagus helping—it would take three years. With an Animagus helping, it would take anywhere from six months to one year, depending on how good you are in Transfiguration, and how good the teacher is."

"Elvish magic is interesting, and powerful, so why are Elves enslaved?" Scorpius asked, as Rose gave him the list.

"I don't know, honestly. Professor Spunky!" Sirius cried.

With a _pop, _his Elf magic teacher appeared. "What can Spunky do for Master?"

"Um, why were Elves enslaved, if they're so powerfully magical?" Sirius asked.

Spunky sighed. "T'is a sad tale, Master Sirius. A long, long time ago, the first Elf, who we call the First Elf, met a wizard named Tennebrus. Tennebrus was incredibly kind, and the First Elf was injured badly, because of a nasty snake bite. So, Tennebrus took the First Elf to his house, over the Great Hill. There, they lived alone for fifteen years, and the First Elf would help Tennebrus with _everything_, cooking, working, washing clothes, everything! In return, Tennebrus taught the First Elf about taking care of wizards and animals and plants." By now, the entire Great Hall was silently listening to Spunky's tale. "And then, Tennebrus met a witch, named Fiona. They soon became married, and with Fiona came a she-Elf, who we call the First Elfmaid. Tennebrus and his wife lived very happily with their Elves and three children. But, on one particularly stormy day, a tornado ripped through the town over the Great Hill. The house in which Tennebrus' family lived was ripped apart. A giant wooden beam was splintered, and the strong winds threw it. It stabbed Tennebrus in the chest. The First Elf did everything he could, using everything he was taught, to save his master. And it worked! Tennebrus was saved, but his heart was not beating on its own. The First Elf and the First Elfmaid had used their magic together to make it beat forever, making Tennebrus the first ever immortal wizard. Everyone in the family was happy, except Tennebrus: he knew in his heart that Fiona, who he loved more than anything, would die one day and he would not. He dreaded that day. Soon, his children moved out and were married, and after that, their children had moved out and were married. But, alas, Fiona's end had come. She died on a day as stormy as the one when Tennebrus had almost died. But he was more distraught than ever—for Fiona was murdered. The rage drove him mad. He blamed the First Elf and the First Elf Maiden, for not doing anything to save her, but they did. It was the Killing Curse that killed her, and they could not save save her from that. And so, unable to do anything, he cast a curse on the Elves, and their kin, so that they would serve one wizard family for their whole lives, and they would make their master happy no matter what. But the First Elf was broken to see his master so evil. He went to the cliff overlooking the Sea, and jumped. But not before he had twenty seven children with the First Elfmaid, who served different families for their lives. And that, Master Sirius, is why Elves were enslaved. But they learned to love their work—the countless ages had changed the Magical Energy in them, and now almost all the Elves love serving their masters and mistresses."

Sirius didn't realize his mouth was open until he went to open it and discovered so. "Well, erm, thank ou, Professor." He said.

Spunky bowed, and said, "Not at all, Maser Sirius, we Elves love telling that tale," with which, he disappeared with a _pop. _

"Well," Sirius said, resuming his now cold soup, "now you know, Scorpius."

Scorpius nodded, and went back to reading the list. "It says here a few are born with the ability to 'read mids'. Isn't that Legilimency?"

Sirius shook his head. "Legilimecy is more like _looking _at thoughts. Mind reading is more specific, but has a shorter thought range. It's like someone's reading a book to you. You can feel what an imaginary object would feel like with Legilimency, but Mind Reading will tell you what the object _does, _and what it's _for._ Does that make sense?"

"So Legilimecy is like a movie, and Mind Reading is like reading a book that the movie was based on," Rose said.

"Right," Sirius said.

"You used Mind Reading on me at the Sorting," Scorpius said, "You told me stuff."

"Yeah, I suppose I did." Sirius agreed.

"So that's two things you don't need to learn from the list," Albus said. "You should cross out stuff you can already do. I'll get a quill—"

"No, that's fine," Sirius said, "I want to practice conjuring." He set his thoughts on a soft red and gold quill, with a rubber grip, and a moving fire design. He though about it appearing on the table. But this time, instead of following just the instructions on the list, he commanded the magic, like wizards, to include the moving flame design and the ink. He repeated the thoughts in his head, and stabbed his finger in the air.

A fine powder began to pour from the invisible hole, and it assembled into a feather that was a foot long. It was red and gold, and there were moving flames on it, but he wondered if there was ink.

"I wonder if there's ink," Albus said, as the other at the table gasped and grinned in awe.

"Well," Sirius supplied, "I was very wizard in conjuring it. I commanded ink and the moving flame design. If there's a moving flame design, there's probably ink, right?"

Albus shrugged and nodded. Scorpius leaned forward with anticipation, and Rose stared at the quill as Sirius' hand drew closer. He grabbed it, and made a mark on the parchment. Unfortunately, he had not specified what _color _the ink was to be. A red mark appeared where the quill made contact. A red mark with a moving flame design.

"I wonder if I can sell these," he mused aloud while the Gryffindors cheered, "and get forty percent of the profit."

"I think you could get sixty," Rose said, "It's a rather serendipitous mistake, really. My uncles Fred and George would love something like this. I could ask them for you, if you want."

"Sure, thanks!" Sirius said, examining his 'serendipitous mistake', "I could use an addition to my four hundred and seventy Galleons. Buy some books, not to mention Christmas and birthday presents…" Suddenly, he got up, and made his way over to the high table. He went to Professor McGonagall, and asked, "Professor, could you possibly make a few copies of this? So I can experiment?"

"Certainly," she said, smiling, "but I think your time would be better spent if I was to make copies for _everyone_? That way, people won't come to you asking for one, too."

"Oh, well that would be great, but I don't want to take up too much of your time."

"Worry not; it'll only take a few minutes."

And it did. Soon, everyone in the Great Hall had one of his 'serendipitous mistake[s]'. Fifteen seconds later, they were dubbed 'Fire Quills'. And four minutes after that, James discovered that they never ran out of ink. Now, if only he could change the ink's color… he was thinking along the lines of bublegum pink.


	5. Academics

_**The usual disclaimer!**_

* * *

Sunday was as good as, if not better than, Saturday. Sirius had figured out how to change the ink's color just before Saturday's dinner, but waited to announce this very publicly until Sunday at breakfast. As it turned out, people liked the quill while it was serendipitous and wrote in fiery letters, so he kept the enhanced quill to himself. But when he said that he could make the quill glow in the dark for a fee of fifteen Sickles, people immediately began paying up, while he charmed the quills. For extra ten Sickles, he made the glow available only to the holder, purely using the Elvish magic he'd read about in his list.

"I need to learn the Undetectable Extension Charm," he had commented dryly at Lunch. "At this rate, the pouch will be overflowing with Sickles by dinner."

"People can't pay you when you're out flying," Rose had said.

"That's what brooms are for," Scorpius explained, "Avoiding mobs."

By dinner, he had in his bag six thousand, two hundred and fifty Sickles, as declared by the Counting Spell cast by Rose, which came up to three hundred and seventy six Galleons and eleven Sickles.

When McGonagall came to tell him that dinner time was not a time or place for business, he gave her thirteen Fire Quills with both Charms on them, free of charge, one for each teacher. That seemed to calm her down. He supposed that adults must feel left out when kids buy and sell things that they would look immature buying.

And so came and went Sunday. Monday, September fourth, 2017, was the first day of classes. Sirius and his dorm mates went to bed early, at ten. They were woken at seven thirty by the magical alarm on the beds. They all went down to breakfast yawning.

"Let's sit at the Slytherin table," Sirius suggested.

The other four boys shrugged and agreed. As they made their way down, Alpha soared from above to Sirius' shoulder, a letter in his toothed beak.

Sirius thanked Alpha and opened the letter while he found Albus and walked over to him. It said,

_Dear Sirius,_

_Congratulations on being Hufflepuff! I know a few Hufflepuffs myself, they were and are fierce friends. I heard from Severus that an Elf is teaching you Elf magic. That's great, especially considering you want to learn to be invisible. Which will come in handy: Arney Dridgew has hear that you're at Hogwarts, and he knows that Ryan Mathews is you. He's coming to Hogwarts later in the week; be prepared to oppose him. But preferably, don't let him see you—Apparate if you need to._

_P.S. - I heard you conjured some nice quills. Can I have one? And Lily; she loves things like that. Thanks is advance!_

_Sincerely,_

_Harry Potter_

Sirius folded the letter, smiling. He took out his own Fire Quill, which currently had bubblegum pink ink, and sat down at the Slytherin table.

Just like with the Gryffindors, they stopped eating.

"This is the Slytherin table," a sixth year boy said.

Sirius nodded, while the Albus and Sirius' dorm mates continued eating.

"Yeah," Sirius said, "it would seem so."

"Oh," the boy continued, more surprised than anything, "why are you sitting here?"

"Well," Sirius said, picking up a spoon, "we figured that it was a rip off to eat while standing, since you can't really hold many things, and you use up energy you gain from the food. Sitting really is the only way to eat."

The boy smiled and said, "I meant why are you sitting _here_, at the Slytherin table? No one except Slytherins ever sits here."

"Why not?" Sirius and his dorm mates stopped eating and looked up curiously.

The boy shrugged. "Just the way things work."

"Well don't get used to it," Sirius said, waving a spoon threateningly, "Hogwarts is full of hormonal teenagers and squealing preteens; your customs are about to be broken."

Albus snorted. "Got that right. First day of classes, and Sirius has already sat at the Gryffindor table and the Slytherin table; the Ravenclaws should be expecting him by lunch."

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, I plan on joining Rose and her friends for lunch. Wanna come?"

Albus shrugged. "Why not? Any of you want to come?"

Everyone within hearing range looked at each other. "We're Slytherins. They hate Slytherins!"

Sirius shook his head. "They don't hate Slytherins. They hate what some Slytherins in the past _did_. They're not even adults yet; they are going to have grudges. Though if it makes you feel any better, we don't hate Slytherins!"

Sirius' dorm mates smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, but you're Hufflepuffs; you don't hate _anyone_!"

Sirius smiled. "Exactly! Now do you see why we're sure they'll welcome you? You're going to be with _Hufflepuffs_! No one hates Hufflepuffs. Even the _name _is lovable—it has _puff _in it, how could anyone hate that?"

"Mhm!" Albus said.

Sirius took out his letter, turned it over, and wrote,

_Dear Mr. Potter, or Harry_

_Thank you for your congratulations. I shall heed your warning, and keep an eye out for Mr. Dridgew. I have enclosed with the letter three Fire Quills—one for you, one for Lily, and another for you wife. I have charmed them so that they glow like candles in the darkness. T change the type of ink, say _'Quill ink:' _followed by the ink color. To revert back to fiery ink, say _'Quill ink: default'. _Enjoy!_

_Sincerely,_

_Sirius Stark - Presumable Genetic Experiment Extraordinare_

The Slytherin next to him, seemingly ignoring the fact he was writing in bubblegum pink, snorted. "You really have to include that?"

Sirius shrugged. "Why not? I'm an extraordinary presumable genetic experiment; I can boast. Here Alpha."

He gave the letter to Alpha, who disappeared in a blaze of fire, causing uproar. Sirius grinned. _Chaos really is better when it's organized, _he thought.

When he got to his first class, Double Herbology with the Gryffindors, people were still talking about 'Sirius Stark and his Fire Bird' and 'Sirius Stark and his association with pyrotechnics', not to mention 'Sirius Stark and he's going to burn the school down'. The last one in particular was extremely funny to Sirius, and he burst out laughing just as Professor Longbottom arrived for class.

"Something amusing, Mr. Stark?" he asked.

When he had gotten over his laughter, he replied, "Yes, sir. It's the rumors. You know, about how I'm an evil pyrotechnics obsessed wizard and I'm going to burn the school down."

"Ah, yes," Longbottom said knowingly, "Rumors can be quite humorous. Anyway, in you go, students, we're beginning your Herbology career with theory. When you get to second year, you begin practical lessons, and believe me, plants _can _be dangerous."

The class walked in chuckling dubiously. When they sat down, Professor Longbottom began talking about Toxic Grape Berries, which are berries that look like grapes but are toxic. He showed them a diagram and told them how to distinguish between grapes and the Toxic Grape Berries. After words, he told them about Devil's Snare, and the method of getting rid of it—mainly _Incendio_, the fire making spell. For homework, he assigned three paragraphs describing the Toxic Grape Berries and distinguishing them from grapes, as well as two paragraphs describing and the defense against Devil's Snare. He promised that at the end of the week, they would be using _Incendio _to see what they could do to a Devil's Snare, and that they would be marked on it. This made him a very popular teacher.

The next class was History of Magic. Sirius knew that he had never endured such mental torture—Professor Binns was talking so monotonously that there was no staying awake unless you did something exciting. So, he, Jerry, and Terry played Charmed Chess on a piece of parchment. Charmed Chess was so called because the pieces and board were drawn on the parchment, and were charmed—by Sirius' Elf magic—to move where ever you dragged them, as long as it was allowed. After Sirius won twenty four out of the twenty four matches played, History of Magic ended.

Sirius and his dorm mates went to lunch, at the Ravenclaw table. Albus and a few Slytherins were already there, and Scorpius joined them soon afterward.

"Oh, Sirius," Rose said, "Uncle Fred and Uncle George said that they'd be happy to sell the Fire Quills and give you sixty percent of the profit—as long as you keep them updated on any improvements you make."

"Fine by me," Sirius replied, "So I see the Ravenclaws are getting cozy with the Slytherins?"

The Ravenclaws glared at him, causing him to grin. So they were, but were too proud to admit it. Good news, as Sirius thought it. After he finished his lunch, he had Charms, and then Double Potions with the Ravenclaws. He knew that he would do well in Charms, especially due to his Elf magic.

Sirius and the Hufflepuffs made their way to Charms class happily, for they would finally be able to use magic—if they finished their small theory portion first. Sirius wondered if his Elf magic would enhance or interfere with his wizard magic, and resolved to try a combination of both.

Once inside the classroom, Professor Flitwick greeted them in a squeaky voice, and took attendance. Then, he immediately began lecturing them on the difference between Charms and Transfiguration.

"Charms," he said, "are spells that give an object properties, or take away properties, such as the Feather-light Charm, which reduces the weight of an object significantly, or the Wand Lighting Charm, which causes a light to appear at the tip of your wand. Transfiguration, on the other hand, is the process of _modifying existing _properties of an object. For example, an Animagus turning into their animal form, which can allow them to fly or swim if it is a bird or fish, respectively.

"Charms are extremely useful in everyday life—they can help carry heavy loads, or to levitate things to and from places that are otherwise inaccessible. These charms will be taught later in the year; for now, you will get the easier ones to get warmed up. First, let's try the Wand Lighting charm, and once you've mastered it, come talk to me. The incantation is '_Lumos_'"—he wrote it on the board—"and if you're having trouble, give your wand a slight downward flick. Wand movements are very helpful while your wand isn't used to you, or needs some encouragement—eventually, you won't need them. Well, come on then, _Lumos_!" Flitwick's wand tip lit up.

The students immediately began trying to do the same. Some got their wands to light just a bit, while others managed to make a light bright enough to make out on a bright sunny day. Jerry and Terry were some of those people. Noah managed to get the perfect amount of light, and somehow managed to make it a narrow beam. Sean made an orb of light shoot from his wand—into Sirius' face, temporarily blinding him.

After apologizing profusely, and Sirius forgiving him profusely, he asked to see Sirius' light.

Sirius cleared his throat, and said, "_Lumos!_" His wand tip blasted a light so powerful, Professor Flitwick fell off his stack of books. Sirius was—once again—blinded.

"I think," Flitwick said, "that the combination of Elf magic makes the magic you cast automatically intention based. Try it non-verbally—if my theory is correct, it should work." Sirius did so, and was once again blinded. So was everyone else. Rubbing his eyes, Flitwick said, "Yes, Mr. Stark, perhaps you should attempt to do _all _your spells non-verbally. It will be good practice for sixth year—and perhaps you could teach the others. Right, now, if you've mastered the charm, please come and take one of these cotton balls"—everyone went and brought one back to their desk—"and once you have them, point your wand at it, and say, '_Incendio_'. This is the Fire Making Charm—it should ignite the cotton ball, which has been charmed to contain the flame and make it smell like roses. The wand movement is like a candle's flame." He showed hem the movement, and set them off to work again. "This spell is more difficult, so do not be discouraged if it doesn't come as easily as the Wand Lighting Charm."

Sirius was just about to cast it, when Sean said, "WAIT!" The whole class looked over at him. "Maybe you should do it a little way off. Just in case, you know, you set the desk on fire."

Sirius nodded in understanding. He shifted the desk away three feet, and cleared his throat. "_Incendio_!" he said. The desk did not in fact catch fire—but the cotton ball _erupted _into flames, blinding everyone _again_. And somehow igniting Sirius' robes. As he busied himself with patting out the glowing tongues, Flitwick levitated his behemoth of a fire to the middle of the classroom, and made it rise high up—to join other cotton balls on fire. No wonder the room was so bright. It was lit with combusted cotton balls.

Before the class was over, Flitwick helped everyone to master the _Incendio _charm and warned Sirius to use all spells non-verbally before attempting to use them verbally.

Next was Double Potions with the Ravenclaws. Sirius had plenty of practice brewing potions, as well as making mistakes. So, he knew that potions could be stabilized by adding the correct ingredient if they got too violent, and that some had terrible tempers and so should only be handled with one's left hand. He wasn't sure how that worked, but then, that's what the teachers are for.

Once they were seated in the Potions classroom, Severus came in silently and walking in a way that made his robes billow like they were running to catch up. His entrance immediately ceased all conversation. He turned to face them once he was at the head of the room, and said in a quiet, menacing voice, "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making. As there is little foolish wand waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." This completely ruined his dangerous first impression.

Severus'—_Professor Snape's_, he supposed, now—declaration caused many raised eyebrows. Was he even _allowed _to insult the students? And why did he sound like he had used that same speech since… forever?

"You will take notes on the basic theory and safety precautions," Snape said, "as well as a list of the potions you will eventually be required to brew. Begin. After the notes are done, begin brewing the Boil Cure." With a wave of his wand, the notes appeared on the blackboard. "Stark, after you have copied this down, see me up front."

Sirius nodded, and while copying, he felt the stares of most of the class on him. He wondered what they were thinking, then remembered that he could read minds. Some of the students thought, _In trouble the first day? Wonder what he did… _while others were less subtle, like one that proclaimed, _Busted! _

Either way, he had the strange feeling that he had not done anything to be 'busted' for, so was confused when he went up to Snape, following the completion of his notes before anyone else.

When Snape noticed he was standing two feet in front of his nose, he looked up from his book and asked, "How much has Invictus taught you about potions?"

"Er…" This question would depend on what Snape considered 'much'. "Well, he's taught me what he believes to be the theory of it, and how to manage ingredients and procedures to save time. And he made brew some potions like Draught of Living Death, Felix Felicis, Amortentia, and Polyjuice. And then there are healing potions like he Mandrake Draught and Nerve Numbing Potion."

Snape looked thoughtful. "See me after class. Begin brewing the Boil Cure."

Sirius nodded, and retrieved the ingredients for the Boil Cure from the cupboard. He set them up, along with his cauldron, in the way Invictus taught him: Cauldron in the middle of the desk, powders on the bottom right side of the desk, liquids on the top right. Between these were the crushing and grinding tools, and the knives. To the left side were the whole ingredients like porcupine quills. He ignored the instructions on the board; Invictus had made him brew this several times, to see if he could brew perfectly seven times in a row. Needless to say, he was done way before anyone else—Rose kept shooting him frustrated glares. He bottled it up and handed it to Snape, who scrutinized it with satisfaction.

"We still have a whole period left; do as you wish," Snape said, "but refrain from helping the others—it's not being marked, and they need to get the feel for it."

Sirius nodded, and went to his desk. Pulling out a piece of parchment and beginning to doodle on it—with the Fire Quill 3.0, a model which now sported a charm to warm the holder's fingers enough to write essays with ease. _That sounds like a great pitch! _He thought. He had drawn and colored a bear, some salmon, and a sunset when Rose finished her Boil Cure and came over to join him. Then he drew Rose, while Rose _tried _to draw him. Seeing her sketch, which looked suspiciously like an egg with ears and a tuft of fur, Sean snickered, earning a swat from Rose.

Eventually, everyone was finished, and the class was dismissed. Sean continued snickering at Rose's attempted portrait, and Rose kept swatting him. Sirius, liking this playful atmosphere a lot better than the torturous one at Invictus' place, couldn't stop smiling as he went over to Snape's desk.

"Sit," Snape said curtly, "now that classes have finished, we are on informal terms. So, _Sirius_, you have told me that Invictus has made you brew several complicated potions—Draught of Living Death isn't taught until sixth year. I am curious to know—what do you do with the Sopophorous Beans?"

"The juice?"—Snape, or Severus, now, nodded—"Well, I crush the beans on a plate, since cutting them isn't really all that efficient. Well, when I do it, anyway."

Severus nodded. "Good," he said, "A certain amount of creativity is often necessary to brew beyond satisfactorily. And do you stir based on the written instruction?"

"Erm, no," Sirius said hesitantly.

"No?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Sirius firmly said. "I make sort of a design. It has nine circles—one in the middle, and eight around it. It takes a while longer, but it makes any potion I've tried so far perfect. As long as I do the stirring right."

"Show me," Severus said, "on parchment; just draw the design as you would stir."

Sirius pulled out some parchment, and drew the incriminating shape. It rather looked like a flower, with petals in all eight major points of the compass.

"I'll have to try it," Severus said thoughtfully, "Where did you learn it?"

"I made it up," Sirius said, with a hint of pride, "using the magical properties of numbers. The one in the middle represents the number one, which is the state of existence. The second one balances stirring clockwise and anticlockwise, so the rest of the circles only have the be made in one direction—but that direction is the opposite of the middle circle. The third, since it's the square root of the nine, stabilizes the potion. The fourth cancels any reaction the heat may cause, since it's a solid number. The fifth makes sure that the potion reaches its full power, in whatever it may do, since five is Aristotle's fifth element, Aether. The sixth circle reduces ill effects the fumes may have—because it's one of nature's choices of number. You know, insects have six legs, and honey combs have six sides. The seventh is lucky, obviously. The eighth represents the eight points on a compass, so you don't have to tilt the cauldron for things you would normally have to. The ninth circle is for completeness—as it's the highest single digit number. I do this before starting to add ingredients other than the dominating liquid, three times. Every time after that, it only needs on round."

"Interesting," Severus mumbled, "does Invictus know about this?"

Sirius shook his head. "He just gives me the potion's tools and ingredients and waltzes of to the nearest pub; he doesn't care _how _I do it, as long as I do it right."

Severus nodded. "Very well. Thank you for this… enlightening procedure. You may go."

Sirius nodded and left, feet clacking, robes billowing, to dinner. Unfortunately, he did not expect to see a certain someone at the Head table: Arneybol Dridgew was staring down at him like a tiger stalking its prey.

* * *

**Has anyone got any ideas for pranks to play on a Head Auror? The next chapter-and a few or several after it-will have Sirius and Co. driving Dridgew out of Hogwarts. If you're wondering about Harry's job, he was the Head Auror, but the public replaced him with Dridgew for his 'practicality'. Harry's currently unemployed, but his inherited fortune is enough to last a very long time.**


End file.
